Have you ever wanted to plant a garden at your child care program but didn’t know where to start? Or do you have a green thumb but want to engage children in learning more about food, nutrition, and the growing process? This Mealtime Memo provides ideas to get you started.

You may have heard of Farm to Preschool, Farm to Early Childhood, Farm to Early Childcare, or Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE). These terms all refer to the National Farm to School movement. The goal of the National Farm to School movement is to provide fresh, local foods to young children in child care settings. In this Mealtime Memo, we will use the term Farm to Early Care and Education or Farm to ECE.

Children establish food preferences and eating habits early in life. They depend on the adults in their lives to provide nutrition education and experiences to help make healthy food choices. Nutrition education for young children in child care settings has many benefits. It helps:

• Develop positive attitudes about foods.
• Create awareness about the importance of making healthy food choices.
• Offer experiences with healthy foods. Children will be more likely to try new foods and eat them again in the future.
• Allow children to see adults as role models for healthy behaviors.

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